Biennale College – Cinema has reached now its 7th edition: a strategic programme for training new filmmakers from all around the world, which was already operating in the Dance, Music, Theatre Section of La Biennale di Venezia.

Biennale College fosters new talents, allowing them to work in contact with masters in order to develop “creations”.

This is a project of crucial importance and the Cinema Section of La Biennale di Venezia has been revitalized and given a brand new configuration: a program of permanent activities “after and beyond the Festival” with a strong commitment to developing new creative energies channeled into producing art.

The primary goal is to supplement the Venice International Film Festival with anadvanced training workshop for the development and productionof micro-budget audio-visual works, open to teams ofdirectors and producers from around the world.

The challenge is to be able to create – at the end of a year-long series of activities that cover the entire spectrum of filmmaking including the conception, development, production, marketing, audience engagement, sales and distribution of films – up to3 feature length micro-budget audio-visual works – among which 1 Italian – that will bepresented during the Venice International Film Festival and alsohave an on-line screening on “La Sala Web”, the virtual theatre added to the traditional theatres that house the screenings for the public and pass holders in the Lido.

An essential element of the initiative is the combination of not only training and production finance but also the screening of the completed film at the Venice International Film Festival giving the selected filmmakers much needed visibility – the lack of which is one of the major problems of today’s independent cinema.

Biennale College – Cinema also aims to advance research on micro-budget productions, which have become, in times of economic crisis, one of the few opportunities that new talents have to make the leap into producing and directing full feature films.

In the course of the first six editions, the first one successfully launched in August 2012, BCC has received more than 1400 applications from all over the world; out of the 63 projects participating in the first development workshops, 32 micro-budget features have been produced: 19 funded by La Biennale di Venezia, each one with € 150.000,00 and premiered at the Venice Film Festival since its 70th edition, 13 produced independently.

The seventh edition, follows the scheme established in 2017 identifying two different calls, one Italian and one International. The training activities will be in English and both courses will proceed on the same path from October onwards.

For each call, Biennale College Cinema is looking for feature-length audio-visual concepts that can be made within € 150.000,00 and could be completed, developed, produced, edited and screened at the Venice International Film Festival in 2019.

Biennale College Cinema – Italia

For the second year we launch the call “specifically dedicated to team of director and producer, both Italian.

Once the submission phase, which will stay open for seven weeks between Februaryand April, is closed, eight micro budget Italian projects will be selected and their teams will be invited to participate in a development workshop in Venice, from 9 to 15 July 2018.

During these 5 days, international tutors will mentor the teams supporting them through the creative process.

At the end of the workshop, on receipt of updated materials within half of August, an additional selection of 3 teams will be made. These will be invited to participate, along with 9 teams selected through the International Call launched in May, in a 10 days development workshop in Venice, in October 2018.

The announcement of the selected projects for the October training will be made during the 75. Venice International Film Festival; from this moment on the two courses of this sixth edition, BCC-Italia and BCC-International, proceed on the same rail.

Biennale College Cinema – International

The call “BCC 7 – International” will be openafter the italian one, starting from May and for six weeks until July.

The call is dedicated to team of director and producer, from all over the world. Biennale College Cinema will select nine international microbudget projects and their teams will be invited to participate, as briefly described above, in a 10 days workshop in Venice.

BCC – Italia and BCC – International: common educational activities

With the announcement of the 12 projects invited to attend the development workshop in October, in Venice, the paths of the Italian and the international call move forward together.

After the October workshop in Venice and a public presentation of the projects during an event organized at Ca’ Giustinian, Biennale historical headquarter, the teams have a further three weeks to work on their projects and deliver a first draft script and updated production documents by mid-November 2018. On receipt of these materials the Festival Director willselect one Italian project and two international projects accessing at the following stages and to be considered to receive the € 150.000,00 grant. The Director’s decision will be announced by the end of November 2018.

The selected teams will participate in two workshops in Venice in December 2018 and January 2019 focused on script development, pre-production, editing and post production.

Following the January workshop, each team will sign an agreement with La Biennale di Venezia, which will define the obligations of the teams and terms to access the € 150.000,00 grant.

Teams will be expected to deliver updated scripts/script treatments, draft and actualized budgets, and schedule breakdowns to release payments. They will also be required to provide reports on their progress with their tutors.

All films have to be submitted by the 22nd of August 2019 in DCP format and subtitled in order to be presented at the 76. Venice International Film Festival.

How to apply

The application consists of a number of written and visual materials, which you will need to submit (see list below). Please make sure that your submission materials is fully developed as we will not consider incomplete applications. Teams that have previously submitted an application to the previous Biennale College – Cinema editions will not be able to re-apply with the same project. Teams who were selected for workshops of the previous Biennale College – Cinema editions will not be accepted again.

You will have to provide the following materials all in English:

a. A Synopsis (1 page, max 350 words or 1.800 characters)

b. A treatment for a micro-budget project (5-10 pages, max 3.500 words or 18.000 characters) that fully describes the project. It can be a feature film, an animation, a documentary or a transmedia project – all genres eligible. A Director’s Vision: it can be represented by a mood board, a project-book (few pages of a storyboard, a colour script, a series of drawings or photographs) or by a video (max 3 minutes). It visually complements the written concept, and describes the project through images

c. A statement outling how the project will explore the micro-budget aesthetic – what particular challenges the film team is looking to explore in terms of form and content. (No more than one page)

d. Previous works by the director (max 2) digital or on film, to be uploaded directly on the website.

e. Casting Ideas (1 page, max 350 words or 1.800 characters)

f. A Total Budget up to a maximum of € 150.000,00.

g. Biographies of the director and the producer including film credits, dates and specifying role in the production.

k. Rights Disclosure with regards to full ownership of rights to the submitted project or, should the rights of third parties be involved, a guarantee that the acquisition of all rights in view of production has been concluded or is currently being negotiated. In the latter case the cost must be indicated in the budget, which in any case as specified above in point f, cannot exceed the total of € 150.000,00.

l. Signed agreement between the producer and the director

Dates, Venues and Timeline

The selected teams will be involved in a series of on-line and off-line activities starting from July 2018 up to the Venice International Film Festival in 2019.

20 February 2018 Call for Application “BCC 7 – Italia”

16 April 2018– Deadline for applications “BCC 7 – Italia”

8 May 2018 – Call for Application“BCC 7 – International”

31 May 2018 – Announcement of the 8 selected teams “BCC 7 – Italia”

1 July 2018 – Deadline for applications“ BCC 7 – International”

10 – 14 July 2018 – Development Workshop in Venice. The workshop will be held in English. (Travel dates 9 and 15 July)

10 August – deadline for the delivery of the updated treatment BCC 7 – Italia